I posted this not because I agree with it, but because I only partially do.
Arron Levie makes the claim that, essentially, if your mission doesn't suck, you won't burn out. I certainly don't subscribe to the same overall viewpoint. More likely for him is he's been burned out more times than he realizes and he's soldiered on, harming his health and his company in the process. The fact that he's managed to succeed anyway is irrelevant to the burnout argument. That's not personal observation, that's science. His psychological contortion in convincing himself that doesn't apply to him is fine to keep him happy, but he shouldn't kid himself: if he'd taken the occasional break, he would probably have been able to think better more of the time.
The main message—passion matters—is important, and I agree with that for sure. That's for keeping your energy up regularly. The secondary message—if you're passionate, you can work without stopping—is incredibly dangerous. More likely if you're passionate you can lose sight of whether or not you've burned out; I know I've kept working in a burned out state before.
Even if it's true that Aaron Levie has avoided burnout because he's just so damn passionate about what he does that he's become immune to general biological observations (perhaps he has a rare mutation that exempts him from these problems…), science pretty much tells us that chances are, you won't have this advantage.
So be wary of following his argument to its logical conclusion. Work on something you're passionate about, yes. It will make your days more fun, it will make your interactions with your fellow workers more fun, and it will make life more fun. But don't forget about the other side of life. Do take vacations. Do take breaks. Do, in short, keep an eye on your broader needs, not just those of the company you've chosen to found or work for.
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[ 3.1 ms ] story [ 10.9 ms ] threadArron Levie makes the claim that, essentially, if your mission doesn't suck, you won't burn out. I certainly don't subscribe to the same overall viewpoint. More likely for him is he's been burned out more times than he realizes and he's soldiered on, harming his health and his company in the process. The fact that he's managed to succeed anyway is irrelevant to the burnout argument. That's not personal observation, that's science. His psychological contortion in convincing himself that doesn't apply to him is fine to keep him happy, but he shouldn't kid himself: if he'd taken the occasional break, he would probably have been able to think better more of the time.
The main message—passion matters—is important, and I agree with that for sure. That's for keeping your energy up regularly. The secondary message—if you're passionate, you can work without stopping—is incredibly dangerous. More likely if you're passionate you can lose sight of whether or not you've burned out; I know I've kept working in a burned out state before.
Even if it's true that Aaron Levie has avoided burnout because he's just so damn passionate about what he does that he's become immune to general biological observations (perhaps he has a rare mutation that exempts him from these problems…), science pretty much tells us that chances are, you won't have this advantage.
So be wary of following his argument to its logical conclusion. Work on something you're passionate about, yes. It will make your days more fun, it will make your interactions with your fellow workers more fun, and it will make life more fun. But don't forget about the other side of life. Do take vacations. Do take breaks. Do, in short, keep an eye on your broader needs, not just those of the company you've chosen to found or work for.